Summit Diplomacy

President Park Geun-hye held summit talks with Rwandan President Paul Kagame on October 29 to discuss cooperation on politics, the economy and other areas of interaction between Korea and Rwanda.

Korea-Italy Summit (October 2014)

President Park Geun-hye held summit talks with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on October 17 in Rome. The two leaders praised the Korean leader's official presidential visit to Italy to mark the 130th anniversary of the Korea-Italy diplomatic relationship.

President Park Geun-hye held a summit with Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting in Milan, Italy, on October 16. This is the first time for the two leaders to meet after their respective inaugurations. The results of the meeting were announced in a joint statement.

President Park Geun-hye and U.S. President Barack Obama held summit talks on April 25 at Cheong Wa Dae where they discussed bilateral cooperation on the economy and national security. In regard to North Korean nuclear weapons, the two leaders reaffirmed the zero tolerance and zero approval principles of jointly dealing with issues surrounding North Korean nuclear arms. Both leaders agreed that the international community would respond strongly were Pyongyang to commit additional nuclear tests or undertake any provocation.

Korea-Australia Summit (April 2014)

President Park Geun-hye held summit talks with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on April 8 at Cheong Wa Dae. The two leaders shared their in-depth opinions about common issues of interest, such as the free trade agreement (FTA) and the security condition on the Korean Peninsula and across Northeast Asia. This is the second summit between the two leaders.

After the summit, they adopted a vision statement. Titled as the “Vision Statement on a Secure, Peaceful and Prosperous Future between the Republic of Korea and Australia,” it contains 22 clauses and sets a new milestone in the future direction of diplomatic cooperation between Korea and Australia.

Korea-Germany Summit (March 2014)

President Park Geun-hye and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held summit talks in Berlin on March 26 to discuss ways to substantially boost bilateral cooperation in trade and investment between Korea and Germany. They also agreed to cooperate on preparing for reunification on the Korean Peninsula.

President Park and Chancellor Merkel agreed to make efforts to extend the volume of investment flowing between the two countries, while highly valuing the volume of bilateral trade that reached its highest-ever amount of USD 27.2 billion last year.

Leaders of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan agreed with one voice that a nuclear-armed North Korea is “unacceptable,” as they sat together on the sidelines of the 3rd Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on March 25.

During the three-way talks, the first in six years, South Korean President Park Geun-hye, U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stressed the importance of trilateral unity in dealing with the issue of North Korean nuclear armaments.

President Park Geun-hye held summit talks with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in The Hague, Netherlands, on March 24. The two leaders discussed ways to substantially boost cooperation in energy, science, technology, agriculture and nuclear energy. They also exchanged in-depth opinions on how to enhance people-to-people exchanges and ways to cooperate in responding to global issues.

President Park told her Dutch counterpart that she is glad to visit the Netherlands again, mentioning her previous visit in 2011 which marked the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and the Netherlands. She said her visit holds significance as this is the first official visit to the Netherlands for a Korean head of state since the two countries started diplomatic relations.

President Park Geun-hye held summit talks with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on March 11. The two leaders announced the conclusion of the Korea-Canada free trade agreement (FTA). They urged North Korea to give up its nuclear program in order to pursue sustainable peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

"As we conclude negotiations on the free trade agreement between Korea and Canada, we are pleased to express our strong commitment to raising our relationship to a new level," said President Park and her Canadian counterpart in the joint statement adopted by the two leaders. Both leaders said they will, “strengthen bilateral cooperation in political, economic, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, as well as other realms, and expand strategic collaboration in regional and international fora.”

Korea- Lithuania Summit (February 2014)

President Park Geun-hye held summit talks with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė at Cheong Wa Dae on February 18 to discuss ways to expand cooperation on trade, investment, energy, infrastructure and IT.

President Park told her counterpart that Korea and Lithuania have been developing their friendship since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1991. She hoped that both Korea and Lithuania could further strengthen the momentum for bilateral cooperation across a wider variety of areas thanks to the Lithuanian leader’s Korea visit.